The Audis we lust after most don't ever seem to cross the pond, do they? The newly-revealed 2015 Audi S1 Quattro and Quattro Sportback fall solidly in that category. Most decidedly not to be offered in the US, the smallest member of the S lineup sounds excellent on paper. And it's a shame, because there are small cars like the Fiat 500 Abarth and the Ford Fiesta ST running around.

Bitching aside, let's look at the details. Most importantly, in a standard A1, the largest gas engine is a 1.4 TFSI. That's been tossed, and in comes the 2.0 TFSI engine found in much of the US Audi lineup, producing a very similar 221 hp in this application. Weight's not listed, but the heaviest A1 is around 2600 lbs, so the quoted 5.8 dash to 62 mph sounds entirely reasonable. So does the quoted mpg, which on the European cycle equates to roughly 33.5 mpg. So far, so good.

On to the suspension, where Audi has hacked out the torsion beam rear suspension and swapped it for a four-link design, suspended the S1 with adjustable dampers, and tweaked the steering response. Larger brakes are a sensible upgrade, as well. As icing on the cake, the S1 Quattro sports a proper short-throw six-speed manual gearbox.

Of course, Audi's keen to reference the Sport Quattro WRC racer, which legitimized AWD as a boon and not a curse in racing. The reality is that it has much more to do with the coincidence of swapping out an 'A' for an 'S' than it does with any substantive connection to the original car.

To summarize, it's a fast, AWD, manual-equipped turbocharged hatch that has solid performance and fuel economy numbers. Also, it looks like an angry little insect. And it's not coming to America. You can't envy what Europeans pay for gasoline, but you can certainly envy their latest hot hatch entry.